Bruno Tonioli seen for the first time at Britain's Got Talent auditions after stepping in for 'devastated' Simon Cowell as filming resumes following Liam Payne's tragic death

Bruno Tonioli was seen arriving at Britain's Got Talent auditions in Blackpool on Saturday after stepping in for Simon Cowell, who has been left devastated by Liam Payne's tragic death. Bruno Tonioli, 68, was seen arriving at Britain's Got Talent auditions in Blackpool on Saturday after stepping in for Simon Cowell, who has been left devastated by Liam Payne 's tragic death The former One Direction star died aged 31 after falling 45ft to his death from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palmero Hotel in Argentina on Wednesday 'This news has hit Simon incredibly hard - he is utterly shocked and devastated,' a source told The Sun. The former Strictly star shielded his eyes behind shades as he arrived at the Winter Gardens as filming on the talent show resumed Grieving Simon was spotted being driven away from auditions after filming was halted on Wednesday The music mogul, 65, met Payne when he auditioned for X Factor for the very first time at the age of 14 Bruno joined the panel last year before YouTube star KSI, 31 stepped in due to his filming commitments in the US 'If Simon Cowell dare put a statement out on the heart-wrenching, tragic loss of my dear and darling friend Liam, he would be a fool. Cowell, 65, was a judge on X Factor and signed One Direction to his music label, Syco after their stint on the show in 2010 Katie Waissel, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter who auditioned alongside Payne on the 2010 series of X Factor, name-checked Cowell accusing music bosses of focusing on 'profits rather than people' Rebecca Ferguson, who also appeared on X Factor in 2010 alongside Payne and Waissel, also intervened saying she believed he'd 'still be alive' if he hadn't had signed up to the talent show Cowell with Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik Waissel said her heart 'breaks' for Payne's family and she felt 'so deeply sorry for all that you went through'.